There are no excuses for Rangers not being positive against Dundee tonight. Against Motherwell at the weekend we were in control and restricted the home side to very little, however, we were far from expansive ourselves, a pass completion rate in the 70s an indication of what the problem was.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is well aware of our issues but he isn’t going to press the panic button just yet, The Rangers Review reporting on the Gers gaffer’s comments when it comes to breaking down stubborn defences:
“We want to attack, that’s for sure.
“Sometimes in games, it goes easier than other games where a team is low in a defensive block and it’s more difficult. It’s not very difficult to see that.
“Then you have to make the right decision in smaller areas, that’s why you need players who can create chances in these moments. That’s what we are looking for and we have some players who are able to do that are not in the squad because of injuries so we have to change that a little bit to keep creating chances.”
We currently have our best number eight in Tom Lawrence, our best number ten in Ianis Hagi, both injured, as well as our best finisher, Kemar Roofe, only just returning to fitness, no team is as fluent or as successful when they are missing key players and yet Rangers – and Gio in particular – are being judged as if there is a fully fit squad to choose from.
What hasn’t helped his cause is Ryan Kent’s form disappearing off a cliff and the manager clearly has a decision to make with regards to the winger’s continued selection in the team.
It’s a long season and I would be more worried if we didn’t have the injury list we have or if we were conceding a lot of chances at the other end, but we aren’t. The manager, in my opinion, should be cut some slack until he has his best players available, if he still can’t get a tune out of them and start playing more attractive football, then we should be having the discussion.
It might not be pretty just now but there is nobody can argue against it being effective.